What To Look For In A Rental Property

With home prices on the rise, more and more savvy buyers are purchasing with intent to offset their mortgage payment each month with rental income. A fantastic idea when you think about it! Why not let someone else pay your mortgage each month WHILE building equity for you?

The key, however, is in finding the right property. So what do you look for?

DUPLEX, IN-LAW SUITE & INCOME SUITE

First and foremost, you need a property that is equipped with more than one apartment. A place for you AND your tenant to live. Familiarize yourself with these terms: duplex, in-law suite, income suite. The difference between a duplex and in-law/income suite property is that one is registered with the city and one is not. One is legal, one is not. While duplexes generally come with a larger price tag, they are advantageous in that they are registered. In-law/income suites, however, are often labelled as such since they contain unregistered units.

SEPARATE ENTRANCE

A separate entrance is a must. This generally means a front door entry point to the main floor apartment with either a walk-out or side entrance leading to the basement apartment. This is a selling feature and will often be listed in the property description or displayed in listing photos. If there’s one thing you don’t want to compromise on it’s the separate entrance.

TWO KITCHENS

This one is pretty much a given, however, I will address it anyway. In combination with a separate entrance, two kitchens are essential. This allows both units to operate independently of one another. After all, very few of us are ordering Uber Eats on the regular and kitchens are generally a necessity.

LAUNDRY: SHARED VS. SEPARATE

This one is completely up to you. Depending on the layout, the necessity for separate laundry may vary from property to property. While separate laundry is often preferred, shared laundry may be viable as long as it is easily accessible for both units.

PARKING

Plain and simple: are there enough parking spaces to support the number of units in the home? Watch out for walkways. Generally, city bylaws restrict you from blocking the sidewalk which may put limitations on the number of spaces you would have available.